Manchester City could be without Erling Haaland and Phil Foden for their game at Brighton after both men missed training on Tuesday following Pep Guardiola's fixture rant

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both missed Manchester City training on Tuesday - sparking fears they could miss Thursday's clash at Brighton.

The Premier League champions will head to the south coast as they look to maintain their surge towards the title. They'll be playing catch up with their rivals playing beforehand and their task could be made harder by the potential absences of key men.

Haaland missed the FA Cup semi-final win with Chelsea on Saturday and Pep Guardiola admitted the Norwegian could also miss the Brighton game. Foden is now another scare after the playmaker, who is also City's second top scorer, was absent from training, reports the Independent.

City were held at the Amex last term and Guardiola has been full of praise for the work of Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi. The Catalan team have seven games remaining this term - which includes the FA Cup final - as they look to complete the double.

Guardiola admitted his players would be given some time away as they prepared for the trip to Brighton. He said on Saturday: “In the fridge for two days. Don’t see each other, stay at home with your families. Try to rest, nothing special. Two days to prepare for Brighton and (Nottingham) Forest. One game at a time.”

It came after the City boss lamented the schedule which saw his team play three days after their Champions League exit. The other semi-final, which took place on Sunday, featured Manchester United and Coventry City, who had not played a midweek game.

He said: "It's unacceptable. It's really unacceptable. Coventry, United and Chelsea don't play in the week, [but] they let us play today. Next week, on Friday it would be better. Instead of Saturday, put it on Friday to let us have a recovery."

The City boss added: "It's impossible, for the health of the players! It's not normal. Honestly, it's not normal. We didn't have the courage to tell you, to FIFA we shut up, but it's not possible. It's unacceptable - 120 minutes. All of you are football players. The emotion against Madrid, the quarter-final, we lose and everything.

"So honestly, I know this country, it is special for many things but it is for the health of the players. I don't understand how we survived today." After their game at Brighton City will face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground three days later. The following weekend they host Wolves.